NEWS about ArchEX 181114A new version of ArchEX is ready! In this new version, which I call ArchEX 2019, I have added the Deepin 15.8 (latest) Desktop environment. Deepin (made in China!) is devoted to providing a beautiful, easy to use, safe and reliable system for global users. I came to like Deepin very much when I installed it in ExTiX 18.8. So I thought why not install Deepin also in ArchEX?

NEWS 181114 about Calamares InstallerI’ve finally managed to make Calamares 3.2.2 (The universal installer framework) work without problems/issues. Calamares 3.2.2 is quite new. Released September 4, 2018. This version gives you more control over the installation process. Now you can use Calamares to install ArchEX in any language. The boot loader Grub2 (which can be installed during the installation of ArchEX) will also work without problems.

WHAT IS ArchEX?
ArchEX 64 bit is a new (181114) Linux live DVD based on Arch Linux. Arch motto is KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). ArchEX uses kernel 4.18.16-1-ARCH,Deepin 15.8 and LXQt 0.13 Desktop environments. Deepin 15.8 Desktop (made in China!) is devoted to providing a beautiful, easy to use, safe and reliable system for global users. About LXQt: LXQt is a lightweight Qt desktop environment. It will not get in your way. It will not hang or slow down your system. It is focused on being a classic desktop with a modern look and feel.

LOG IN to Deepin/LXQt
When the boot process is ready you will end up at LightDM‘s login screen. Login as user exton with password live to the Deepin or LXQt Desktop.

INSTALLATION to hard drive
ArchEX can easily be installed to hard drive of those who so desire. Use ArchEX Installer (Calamares). I.e. while running ArchEX live from a DVD or USB stick. Read this INSTRUCTION and watch the slideshow below.

VirtualBox and VMware
ArchEX can run and be installed without problems in VirtualBox and VMware. Watch a screenshot when ArchEX is about to be installed in VMware Workstation 12 Pro. Be sure to give ArchEX enough RAM. About 2 GB. Also remember to disable 3D acceleration in VMware. (It won’t work without installing VMware Tools).

Program Management in Arch Linux
Arch Linux uses a proprietary system called Pacman. It is similar to that found in CRUX Linux. Read about Pacman.
You can also read all the documentation on Arch Linux. Four commands are basically the only ones you need to use:
1) pacman -Sy (update the packages database)
2) pacman -Syu (upgrading the whole system)
3) pacman -S MyUsefulProgram (the package installation command)
5) pacman -S –overwrite MyUsefulProgram (in case you get an error about “conflicting packages”)Very simple!Note: You can also use Yaourt – see below.

Errors about archlinux-keyring
If you get errors about keys (for example key A634567E8t6574 could not be looked up remotely) when trying to upgrade your system you shall run the following four commands as root:rm -R /etc/pacman.d/gnupg/ rm -R /root/.gnupg/ gpg –refresh-keys pacman-key –init && pacman-key –populate archlinux pacman-key –refresh-keys

Yaourt – Yet AnOther User Repository Tool
If you want to install certain special packages for example Google Chrome and Spotify you can/must install Yaourt. Study this tutorial about how to install and use Yaourt – a Pacman frontend. Note: Yaourt and Spotify are pre-installed in ArchEX Build 181114. If you want to install new packages through Yaourt you’ll have to run the command su exton before yaourt MyNeededProgram. If you’re not logged in as the ordinary user exton. (You can’t run Yaourt as root).

Running ArchEX as root
You can’t login as root from LightDM and you can’t reach the Deepin desktop in any way as root (superuser). If you , however, for some reason want to run ArchEX as root you can login in console mode and run the command startx. You will then enter the LXQt desktop. Press Ctrl Alt F1 or F2 simultaneously in order to change to console mode.

LANGUAGE
The default locale/language is English. While installing ArchEX to hard drive using Calamares (ArchEX Installer), you can change the default locale to Swedish or any other language.

Rolling distribution
Arch Linux/ArchEX are rolling distributions, which implies that once you have installed the system on the hard drive there is no need for re-installations (which otherwise is common in the Linux world).

WHO should run Arch Linux?
My answer: The system fits the “advanced” Linux user/enthusiast, who would be willing to run an occasional command from time to time.

BENEFITS of ArchEX/Arch Linux
“Cutting Edge”-software and speed. You will for example always run the latest kernel if you upgrade ArchEX/Arch (for example) every month.

A member on RaspEX recently wrote this about RaspArch: I’ve used Slackware, Debian, Gentoo, Ubuntu & Arch. I prefer Arch. Ubuntu is easier to install, Arch is easier to keep up to date. You do not go through big, painful, changes every year instead you just update, once in a while, make changes if instructed. Arch has most of the benefits of Gentoo without the pain of recompiling _everything_. When you do need to build a package in Arch its painless especially if you use one of the tools that support AUR (I like Yaourt). Arch avoids the politics of Debian and Ubuntu and delivers a great Linux distribution. RaspArch now brings these advantages to the Pi 2.